I have had soapstone in two kitchens for a total of 8 years and would never have anything else. Yes, we get the occasional chip or gouge on an edge - if those bother you they’re easy enough to sand out. We don’t treat ours in an way, and over the course of a couple of years they weather to a beautiful grey/black.

Kitchen #1

current kitchen:

(photo #1 is from a real estate listing, photo #2 is how our kitchen actually looks the Monday before Thanksgiving)

Thank you, theotherJaye. Soapstone sure is beautiful. Do you remember which kind you have? I know that some are harder than others.

We've soapstone on our counters and behind our range in our primary kitchen and I have it on the kitchenette in our studio. We left it unsealed/natural and have been quite happy with it.

I would not use it anywhere you might use for baking as marble works much better for working with dough.

https://bamasotan.us/2020/12/the-kitchen/

We had a piece of soapstone in our showroom on our coffee bar. We left the few scratches in it and never oiled it. It always looked really good.

If you don't like one that patinas or don't like the scratches, you could look into Jet Mist granite or Virginia mist as an alternative.

In our first home, built in 1911, there was a deep, two sided sink in the laundry area....(for the owner's housekeeper. There also was a button under the dining room table so the hostess could step on it and it would ring in the kitchen to ask for service.). I wish I had that sink now, sigh.

Anyway, soapstone is non-porous, stain resistant and antimicrobial, so you can clean it with just soap and water, or give it a vinegar bath. If you want a shine, mineral oil applied with a soft cloth and wiped with a clean soft cloth will work. If there is a scratch (I would leave it), you can buff it out.

Just make sure you are getting authentic soapstone. If you put drops of vinegar on the soapstone, left it for an hour or two, wiped it off see etching, it is not authentic.

Thanks for all of the encouraging feedback. I would get any soapstone from a reputable soapstone dealer. Both Texeira and Dorado have locations in my metropolitan area, so it’s likely that I’ll be able to find slabs that I like at one of those.

darbuka -Beautiful kitchen! Your comment re: the small chips at the sink make me think that perhaps I should avoid an under-mount sink. I’ll be sure to look at Belvedere. I have also read that PA soapstone has a good Mohs rating. On another note, have you been happy with your Thermador range top and your Miele ovens? For ovens, I’m concerned about the issues with Wolf’s blue interiors chipping and crazing.

opaone - Your kitchen is gorgeous, as well! And the link that you shared to your detailed description is packed with extremely helpful information. How I wish that we had that much space! It would be a dream come true to have the room for a scullery like yours. Even after reorganizing our floor plan, our space is going to be tight, but it will be much better than what we’ve been living with for many years.

Debbi-I’ve thought that maybe I should consider honed Jet Mist or Virginia Mist granite as an alternative, but my concern is that I have read that those black granites, when honed, show every fingerprint, and I wouldn’t want the high gloss.

elcieg- The big soapstone sinks are gorgeous and so practical. It’s an option that I am considering, if not in the kitchen, perhaps in my laundry room. Thanks for the tip about testing the soapstone with vinegar to confirm that I am looking at authentic soapstone.

Thanks, everyone, for taking the time to respond and giving me such encouraging information about soapstone. Enjoy your Thanksgiving! Hopefully, by next year, I’ll be able to host Thanksgiving and cook with ease in our new kitchen.

There. is. NO. "perfect " counter. top. : )

My friends with granite and quartz counters, also have chips at the sink from pots hitting the edges during cleaning. Theirs can only be fixed by calling in and paying for a professional. They’ve chosen to leave the chips as is. Chips in soapstone can be easily smoothed (sanded) out by the homeowner or, disguised with a black Sharpie.

Had I known better, I would’ve changed fhe reveal of the sink. My soapstone overlaps the sink. I think that’s called a negative reveal. Pulling back the soapstone, so that the sink edge shows, (positive reveal), would’ve solved the problem. Thus, no need for a drop-in sink.

Almost 9 years of heavy use, the Thermador gas rangetop, and the Miele double ovens have performed flawlessly. No enamel crazing or chipping, in the ovens…which is grey, not blue. Particularly enamored of the CSO (combi steam oven).

In truth, I would’ve preferred an induction cooktop, for ease of cleaning most of all. However, husband is the cook, and he’s a lover of the flame. Since I got everything else I wanted for the kitchen, I didn’t argue.

Not that the Thermador rangetop is hard to clean. It isn’t. The thick enamel top surrounding the burners, ensure food drips/splatters are easily removed. The grates, though substantial, also clean without much effort. It’s just not as simple a cleanup, as induction.

Want to add: Our experience with Teixeira was outstanding, from beginning to end. We‘re on Long Island, and used their New Jersey location. The staff was professional, friendly, patient, and knowledgeable about soapstone. I knew I wanted a very hard variety, with green veining. We were taken to the Belvedere slabs, and found just the right slab for our kitchen.

Btw, this was not our first visit there. Our first visit was exploratory. We walked around looking at, and testing various varieties for hardness. Several could be easily scratched with a fingernail, or coin. We talked to the staff, increased our knowledge, and took home samples to test.

Our son and his partner just had Teixeira do their kitchen…and, master bath. They chose another gorgeous, veiny, hard variety, Anastasia, for the kitchen. In the bathroom, Belvedere made a stunning bathtub surround, and shower. The workmanship by Teixeira’s staff was exemplatory. And, like our installation almost 9 years earlier, their home was left spotless after the jobs were completed.

Good luck with whatever you choose!

darbuka - Thanks, once again, for sharing so much helpful information. Thermador now offers the option of an induction burner on the same range top as gas burners, which makes the Thermador brand appealing. That you have gone 9 years with flawless performance is impressive.

darbuka - If you have a seam in your countertop, where did you choose to place the seam? Have you found that seams can be disguised well and sealed so that they don’t break down and collect grime and crumbs over time?

The one seam runs down the middle of the main sink. The faucet covers the rear seam. The front seam, is unnoticeable. The seam is so tight, nothing can get into it. It’s been almost 9 years. The seam looks the same now, as it did at install.

Expand the pic. Can you find the seams?

darbuka - I can’t see your seam at all. Good to know, because I would have thought that the drips from the sink would cause the seam to break down over time.

Also, darbuka, I like the wood cutting board that you have, the way that it wraps over the front edge of your counter.

Mabsy, for medical reasons, I can no longer stand for long periods of time. My husband has become the family cook. He is an A-1 messy slob in the kitchen. Cleanup most often, does not occur timely. I’ll come in hours later, and find the prep splatters/drippings/water still in place. Nothing has damaged or degraded the soapstone, or the seam. Dish soap, and the back of a damp, blue scrubby sponge is all that’s needed to clean the mess. In fact, since soapstone is anti-microbial, just water suffices…unless there’s oil on the counters.

As for the cutting board…we purchased that from IKEA, probably 20 years ago, for the kitchen in our former home. We made sure to bring it with us, when we moved.

darbuka - You have really helped me feel confident about going with soapstone. Thanks so much! Best wishes for the holiday season.

Mabsy, go to Teixeira. Have them show you around the showroom, where you can see soapstone installed. The NJ location has that, anyway. Even the floors in that showroom, are soapstone.

Anyway, go. Ask questions. The knowledgable staff will be happy to help in any way. Look around the warehouse…and, the outdoor slabs, too. See what varieties appeal to you visually.

Test for hardness with your fingernail, and a coin (in a corner of the slab). Those that scratch, will be the softer varieties.

You can have them point you to the hardest varieties. Tell them what kind of veining you prefer…minimal or a lot. Just white, or green, or tan, or a combo. Don’t hesitate to ask them to move slabs within a grouping, as each slab is unique. And, ask for samples to take home, and test.

When you finally pick your slab (or slabs), tell them you want to pick the templating, meaning, what sections of the slab(s), you want to go in certain parts of your kitchen. This was my slab, with templating selected.

That was nine years ago. My son tells me, its done on computer now.

darbuka - I always love seeing photos of your beautiful soapstone and kitchen!

mabsy - I plan to get soapstone counters this summer. I am leaning towards getting a type called PA Original (which is sometimes referred to as Stormy Black). It is one of the harder varieties. You asked theotherjaye about what type of soapstone they have. I don't know for certain, but I will guess that photo #2 (the lower photo showing the "Monday before Thanksgiving") is likely PA Original. Hopefully, they will revisit this post to confirm.

Laurie - Yes, it’s my understanding that PA Original is one of the hardest varieties, so it is one that I will be looking for, as well as Belvedere, based on darbuka’s experience.

I am also thinking about what type of edge would hold up the best. It seems to me that a standard 90-degree edge might chip more easily because of the sharp corner, but I’m not sure.

@Laurie, thanks for the compliment!

Mabsy, in addition to Stormy Black and Belvedere, also ask to see Anastasia. Gorgeous veiny variety, and hard like Belvedere. This will give you a variety of veiny-ness for you to select from.

You are right to be concerned about what edge type to get. The sharper the edge, the better chance of chipping. We got the eased edge, which is gently rounded. Haven’t had any chipping, except as I said in an earlier post, at the sink edge.

I believe the kitchen on our old house was Belvedere; our current kitchen is indeed PA original. We also did a slightly eased edge. I would have soapstone on every countertop in the house if I could (it would have been a bit much in, say, the living room, I think, although I did do it on the dining room built in.) The stuff is absolutely indestructible.

We will have an eased edge. I believe this was suggested by the fabricator. In addition to kitchen countertops, they will also fabricate a fireplace mantel.

theotherjaye - Thank you for confirming that your soapstone is PA Original.

I have lived with 3 different types of soapstone since 2009. We had Old Dominion installed in our last kitchen, by far my favorite. We also had a small piece of Brazilian soapstone in that laundry room. Our current house has a very hard variety of soapstone that the previous owners installed.

The Old Dominion was softer, it would get little marks all over and chipped edges but the variation worked so well, I would occasionally fill in some whiter marks with a sharpie and I did do a small edge repair prior to selling. For the edge repair I used a resin kit off of amazon with the chip that I had saved. It did not look terrible but you could see it if you knew where to look.

The current much harder soapstone has one tiny chip at the sink but otherwise really does not mark. I prefer the variation and life of the Old Dominion. I also had to sand the entire surface of our newer counters because they did have a high polish finish, the difference is dramatic as they looked and felt like granite prior to the sanding and now have a nice matte finish and feel. I do not think that I would have attempted sanding or chip repairs on granite, soapstone is forgiving and has allowed me to try fixing issues on my own.

Thanks, s m! Very helpful information!

s m - So interesting to hear about the sanding of your counters in order to get the matte finish and feel. I saw some beautiful PA Original soapstone at the slab yard, but it had a shiny finish. The employee at the yard told me they will hopefully get a more matte version in their next shipment and they will keep me posted. She gave me a small sample that had a factory finish of around 600 grit (too shiny for me). She sanded half of the sample with 320 grit (which I like better).

Did you sand yourself or did you hire someone? Do you know what grit of sandpaper you used and any other tips for sanding?

I like the beautiful and peaceful cat on your first photo : )

Hi Laurie,

This post has pictures and the description of sanding my soapstone:

Shiny Soapstone post link

I used a KGS PRO-PAD Diamond Hand Polishing Pad Grit 120 from amazon but apparently they no longer have 120 grit, this one from Home Depot is the same:

120 grit diamond sanding block link

This is the post by Jane David that encouraged me to try sanding on my own:

Finishing/Sanding Soapstone discussion link

The biggest issue that I was concerned with when sanding was dust so I used a spray bottle to keep the areas that I was sanding wet. It was messy but not dusty.

s m - Thank you for this information about sanding soapstone. Hopefully, when I buy mine, the fabricator will agree not to add a sealer and not to use a high grit sander. However, in case I end up having to sand it at some point, I am wondering how you managed to sand the front edges and the edges that abut a cabinet, wall or faucet. If you move the sander in different directions to get into tight spaces, does it cause irregular sanding marks?

A comment was made that soapstone is antimicrobial. Some clarification:

Soapstone is not inherently antimicrobial in the way materials like copper or brass are. However, it has qualities that make it resistant to bacteria growth:

1. Non-Porous Nature: Soapstone is dense and non-porous, meaning it does not absorb liquids, food particles, or bacteria, reducing the likelihood of microbial growth.
2. Ease of Cleaning: Its smooth surface is easy to clean and maintain, which helps in keeping it hygienic.
3. Neutral Surface: Soapstone does not provide a hospitable environment for bacteria to thrive, unlike porous materials such as wood or untreated granite.

While not "antimicrobial" by definition (it does not actively kill bacteria), soapstone is considered hygienic due to its natural properties. Regular cleaning with soap and water is typically sufficient to keep it sanitary.

Mabsy, if you purchase your soapstone from either Teixeira or Dorado, (as you stated you would), it’s highly unlikely either place would seal any soapstone they install. Or sand their product with the improper grit. Both companies are soapstone specialists.

Generic stone yards, on the other hand, mostly sell granite, marble, quartzite, and factory made quartz. They may carry one or two varieties of soapstone. Generic stone yards don’t understand or appreciate the different properties of soapstone, vs other countertop materials. So, they tend to fabricate soapstone the same way they do for other stone tops. That won’t happen with Teixeira, or Dorado.

Wanted to add: In many parts of the country, stone yards just sell slabs. They don’t fabricate. You have to find your own fabricator, and have you slab(s) delivered to the place of fabrication. That won’t happen at Teixeira. They are a one stop shop. They do everything, from point of purchase to fabrication, sanding, and installation.

Mabsy,

I hand sanded with regular sandpaper in the tight areas around the faucet, every other area I used a sanding block.

I would have the expectation of the soapstone that you purchase to be finished correctly to begin with and, if it is your preference, to not be sealed. When I had the Old Dominion installed in my last house it was finished nicely and, after discussions with my installer and living with samples, I decided that I did want him to seal it. The enhancing sealant does not change the shine level of the stone but it does keep it dark without oil or wax. I understand that many people do not want to use sealant on soapstone but it is a misconception that it causes issues and for the people that do get frustrated with water marks or wax or oil, it is a valid consideration especially if the frustration reaches the point of wanting to replace the counter.

The stone that I had to sand was installed by previous owners and I do not know if they wanted or asked for the highly polished finish or if that was just how the stone came. I lived with the shiny finish for a couple of years and it always had a dull mark where it had been scrubbed or sanded that stood out. I was reluctant to attempt the sanding process myself until I read the thread by Jane David in which she sanded her overly polished soapstone. I am glad that I did finally take the time to sand it, it was a good feeling to make such a big improvement on my own. Since your initial question was about repairs on soapstone, the ability for the homeowner to sand out or repair almost any issues that arise is definitely an advantage that soapstone has over most other countertop materials.

s m - What is the name of the sealant that you used? I looked back at your comments in the older thread that you linked to and couldn’t find the brand or type mentioned.

Soapstone makes a fine countertop, just make sure you know what you're getting into. You don't get soapstone and bling. If warm funk is your thing, you'll be happy.

Joseph, there’s no ”funk” with soapstone. Get a hard variety, and scratches and chips will be almost nil. Cleanup is a snap. Nothing special. Just soap and water.

And, yeah, us soapstone people aren’t looking for ”bling.” I imagine very few soapstone folks have installed gold tone hardware and lighting. We prefer our kitchens to have warmth, and a kind of serenity. Shiny surfaces are not that.

I used Miracle 511 seal and enhance

This is Stormy Black from M. Tiexiera in NJ. They were fantastic to work with - we paid a surcharge for fabrication in CT as the local places and our contractor were not informed and wanted to do a high shine and sealer. We chose 80 grit finish based on this stone in their showroom. It was exactly what we wanted and after 10 years still loving it. It is a hard variety but this area next to sink is showing some scratches (I use cast iron and stoneware often). I haven’t oiled in many years. I like the “dress up” look of it but not necessary. Scratches seem to come and go I don’t stress about them. Don’t use a fabricator that may leave you with the need to sand in house - that would be a nightmare after an expensive investment. I’ve heard before the notion that if you like clothes that are wrinkle free polyester you might not like SS, it’s more of a worn linen lifestyle - that is true! It suits our 140 year old house well.

brdri - Thanks for sharing your experience. Laurie mentioned in a previous comment that PA Original is sometimes referred to as Stormy Black. Is that your understanding, also?